Beach City Community Theater
by Kimblee Whitehead
Summary: Strange events have been occurring all over Beach City, caused by something sinister. However, the gems are distracted, as Pearl and Greg seem to have a secret. Yet...all these mysteries seem to have one thing in common. The Beach City Community Theater.
1. Chapter 1

**Beach City Community Theater  
Chapter 1**

* * *

It was one of the gem's more dangerous missions. All three of them were glad that they decided not to bring Steven around this time. They were in a wide plains, with open space surrounding them as far as they could imagine. As gorgeous as it was, it did have it's downsides. Specifically, they had no place to take cover.

And unfortunately, they needed cover.

Their foe was a large ape-like monster, with three angry heads. If that wasn't bad enough, each head could shoot a stream of fire from it's mouth. The monster was fast, and it's attacks were faster. This meant that the gem's had a severe disadvantage in this fight.

"Look out!" Garnet called out. A large fireball shot rapidly towards the them. The three gems jumped out of the way, just barely avoiding getting burned. The monster didn't even give them a chance to catch their breath. It started charging them.

Garnet took a deep breath, noticing that it wasn't shooting any fire this time. Maybe it was recharging? A look of determination sparked across her face as she realized this could be her chance. As fast as her feet would let her, she began racing towards the monster, raising her gauntlets.

The monster looked down at her, and opened it's mouth. The glow of it's fire could be seen coming from deep inside it. Garnet gasped, as she realized her mistake. Scorching fire was about to envelop her body, and there was no way to escape it.

"Hang on, G!" Amethyst called out, throwing her whip towards Garnet. It wrapped around the red gem's foot, and Amethyst yanked her teammate out of the fire's path. Garnet hit the ground with a thud, but she was safe.

"Thanks," Garnet said.

"Don't mention it."

But the thanks was short lived, as yet again, the monster began to charge them. The gem's had no other option than to run.

As they ran, Amethyst couldn't help but notice that Pearl was looking slightly uneasy. That was a bit odd. Normally, Pearl was completely calm during combat. This wasn't to say that she wasn't calm...but Amethyst had known Pearl long enough to tell if anything was bothering her. However, Amethyst didn't have much time to worry about Pearl's state of mind, as the next attack was soon coming at them.

Another swift move, and the gems avoided the fire once again.

"We'll be barbecued if we keep this up!" Amethyst yelled. Pearl let out a long sigh, and tightened her grip around her spear.

"This is getting ridicules," the pale gem said.

Garnet took a step forward towards the monster, looking at the two of them.

"We need a fusion to beat it," she stated. She gave them a concerned glance, "Will you two be able to form Opal?"

The monster was on them once again, causing the three gems to start running from it's flames.

"We wouldn't have time to fuse!" Amethyst exclaimed, "This thing will fry us before we can do anything!"

"I'll distract it," Garnet took a deep breath, and began running in a different direction than her teammates. She began yelling, grabbing the beast's attention.

Amethyst and Pearl looked to each other, unsure. They took deep, uncertain breaths, and they began to dance. They could feel their personalities start to blend, and their bodies become one. They could feel what their partner was feeling.

In that brief moment before they became Opal, Amethyst's suspicions were answered. She could feel a nervous energy coming from Pearl. She was feeling anxious about something, and it wasn't the fight.

_"What's wrong?"_ Was Amethyst's last thought, before her personality faded, and Opal emerged.

* * *

There was nothing Steven loved more than the days he could spend with his dad. It had been an awesome day so far. They went and ate some fish stew pizza, and then they went out for ice cream, and then they bought as many donuts as they could from the donut shop. They had basically spent the entire day eating. As far as Steven was concerned, there was no better way to spend an afternoon with his dad.

They were currently sitting on the docks, enjoying the last of their donuts, watching as the sun set.

"I know I say this a lot, but I mean it this time," Steven said, "This is the best donut ever." He took a large bite out of the sugary pastry. Greg couldn't help but laugh.

"I dunno, son. My donut is pretty delicious," he said. He broke off a piece, and handed it to his son. Steven quickly shoved it in his mouth. A large grin crossed the boy's face.

"You're right. This donut is actually the best donut ever." Greg ruffled his son's hair.

"Do you want the rest of it?" he asked, offering the donut to Steven. Steven shook his head.

"Dad, it's you're donut!"

"I know," Greg said, "I'm just not hungry any more."

Steven let out a large gasp, "You? Not hungry?"

"It just happens sometimes," Greg shrugged. Steven frowned.

"Not to you!" he exclaimed. Greg couldn't help but sigh. The boy was right. Admittedly, he was nervous. He had a big night tonight...and he wasn't exactly excited for it.

"Don't worry about it," Greg said, "This donut would be happier with you, anyway."

Steven sighed, as he reluctantly took the donut. He slowly ate it.

"Dad, you know you can tell me anything, right?" Steven said between mouthfuls of donut. Greg couldn't help but laugh. It was absolutely adorable. Greg wrapped his arm around Steven's shoulder.

"I know," he said, a smile on his face. However, he didn't tell Steven what was on his mind. It's not that he didn't want to tell him. Steven was his son, after all. He could tell his son anything.

But he didn't want his son to know about this particular thing.

* * *

As soon as Opal emerged, the battle with the monster turned towards the gem's favor. Opal was able to swiftly and efficiently slay the monster, and the mission was over. As soon as the battle had been won, Pearl and Amethyst returned to their normal states. They collected their artifact, and went home.

Pearl couldn't help but notice the weird glance that Amethyst was giving her, but she attempted to shake it off as nothing. It was nothing, she told herself. She was just being paranoid.

But then a thought crossed her head. What if Amethyst knew? What if the purple gem had somehow read her thoughts before they became Opal? Pearl took a deep breath. What if Amethyst had found out her little secret? Pearl didn't know what she would do. She would be mortified.

As they returned to the temple, Pearl looked to the clock. It was almost nine. She gasped. She was going to be late. It looked like she would have to worry about Amethyst later.

"I'm going out," she exclaimed, quickly making her way to the door.

"Where are you going, P?" Amethyst called out after her. Pearl didn't answer her teammate, and simply ran out the door door.

Amethyst looked to Garnet as Pearl left.

"What's her problem?"

* * *

Pearl let out a deep breath as she ran to her destination. It was an absolutely gorgeous summer night. The moon was full, and there was a warm breeze in the air. After a long day of fighting, it was refreshing.

"Pearl!" she heard a voice exclaim. Pearl couldn't help but smile as she turned around. Greg Universe was running up behind her.

"Looks like I'm not the only one running late," Pearl joked. Greg nodded as he caught up to her, and the two continued to walk together.

"I don't think you've ever been late," Greg said, "In fact, I've always thought you show up at least an hour early for everything."

Pearl shrugged, giggling slightly, "Well...there's nothing wrong with being on time."

The two arrived at their destination. They both looked up at the building. It was one of the older buildings in Beach City. There wasn't anything too special about it. It was smaller, artsy building. Even though it wasn't the nicest building in the world, there was something welcoming about it.

The Beach City Community Theater.

Pearl looked to Greg, "Do you have it memorized?" Greg nodded, somewhat reluctantly.

"Yeah. Do you?"

Pearl nodded to him. The two took a deep breath, exchanged reassuring looks, and entered the theater.


	2. Chapter 2

**Beach City Community Theater  
Chapter 2**

* * *

Pearl was absolutely terrifying when she was angry.

It wasn't as if Pearl's fury was unjust. Amethyst knew that whatever Pearl did, she deserved it. She had known the risks of going into Pearl's room. The pale gem had told her multiple times to keep out. Normally, Amethyst listened. They may not have always gotten along, but Amethyst could at least respect Pearl's privacy. However, Pearl was acting stranger by the day. When they weren't on a mission, the pale gem would retreat into her room. She wouldn't come out until exactly 6:30, where she would leave to go...somewhere. She never told them where. She would never return until exactly 12:15. It was odd. Amethyst wanted answers.

When when Amethyst went in Pearl's room, the pale gem was walking around the top of her fountain. She was saying something, but Amethyst couldn't hear what it was. Everything was drowned out by the roar of the waterfalls. Amethyst tried to get a little closer, but Pearl spotted her.

"What have I told you about coming in here?" Pearl shrieked. Amethyst rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, yeah, I know. Privacy and respect, blah-blah-blah," she said. Pearl disappeared under the water, and reappeared next to Amethyst. She grabbed the purple gem firmly by the shoulder, and started to walk her to the door.

"Come on, P," Amethyst objected, "You've been acting weird lately. What are you even doing in here?"

"What I do in my room is none of your business," she said. They got to the entrance, where the doors opened. Pearl pushed Amethyst out, and the doors slammed in the purple gem's face. Amethyst scowled.

"What's your problem?" Amethyst yelled, pounding on the door. She felt a hand on her shoulder. She looked up to see Garnet.

"Maybe you shouldn't be in her room."

* * *

At exactly 6:30, Pearl came running out of her room. Amethyst asked where she was going, but Pearl simply scowled at her, and left without a word.

Amethyst took a bite out of her donut, as she leaned against the wall. She noticed that Garnet was staring at her, "What?" she asked, her mouth full of food.

"Don't worry about Pearl," Garnet said. Amethyst scowled, swallowing the donut in her mouth.

"I'm not worried about stupid Pearl," she said, shoving the rest of her donut in her mouth, "She can get eaten by a centipeedle for all I care."

Garnet's look didn't change. Amethyst simply looked away, not wanting to deal with it. However, even though she couldn't see the red gem's gaze, she could still feel it burning into her soul. She couldn't stand it anymore.

"Alright!" she exclaimed, standing up, "I'm worried about Pearl."

"You're worried about Pearl?" Amethyst turned around, to see Steven standing at the door. She let out an exasperated sigh. Of course Steven would walk in at that very moment.

"We don't need to worry about Pearl," Garnet repeated, a little more force to her voice.

"Come on, G," Amethyst said, "You've gotta admit...she's been acting weird lately."

"Maybe there's something in the air..." Steven said. The two gems turned to look at him, a bit confused by his statement.

"What makes you say that?" Amethyst asked. Steven shrugged.

"I dunno. My dad's been acting weird lately too."

Amethyst sighed, giving Steven a small smile, "I'm sure it's not related."

"Unless…" Garnet said, stopping mid thought. Amethyst and Steven's heads looked to her, confused. Garnet shook her head, "Nah." She said. She turned around, and walked into her room.

* * *

It wasn't a secret that Pearl didn't understand a lot about human culture. She didn't understand the concept of arcades, video games left her confused, and she felt movies were a waste of time.

Yet, here she was. At one of the oldest staples of human culture. The theater. On top of that, she was with Greg Universe. If someone was to tell her three weeks ago that she'd be willingly spending most of her nights with Steven's father, she'd think they were crazy. Yet, that was exactly what was happening.

The theater's interior was a very colorful play. The lobby was painted it a deep maroon color. Paintings and photographs of local artists sat displaced on the walls. However, they weren't there to look at art.

"Hey, Pearl," Greg said, "You haven't...um, told anyone, have you?"

Pearl shook her head, "Of course not." she replied, "...Have you?"

Greg shook his head. The two both let out a sigh of relief. With that, they walked out of the lobby, and into the main corridors of the theater.

* * *

Buck Dewey had snuck out of his house, and was wondering around the streets of Beach City. He wasn't doing it to be rebellious, or anything. No, he simply liked the way Beach City was at night. He loved how quiet everything was. He loved how cool and crisp the air was. Most of all, he loved the soft glow that came from the streetlights. It was truly beautiful.

He saw on a bench overlooking the ocean, and smiled. In his mind, this is was paradise was. If nothing else, it was the perfect setting to write his poetry. He pulled out a notebook, and flipped to a page. He began to write.

His friends didn't know of his poetic life style. He never told them. As much as he loved it...he was a bit embarrassed by it. He knew that if his friends ever found out, they would tease him relentlessly. He smiled. Maybe he would write a poem about that. A poem about writing poems in secret.

He checked his clock, and smiled. It was exactly midnight. The best poems were written at midnight.

As his pen hit the page, he saw something out of the corner of his eye. It was a soft, purple glow.

He turned his head, and saw a small ball of light.

"Woah," he said. He got off of the bench and approached it. In all of his life, he had never seen anything like this. Was he dreaming? As he approached it, he slowly reached his hand out to it.

All of the sudden, the light flashed.

A notebook and pen fell to the ground, as Buck Dewey disappeared.

* * *

_Thank you SpaceWonder368 and guest for reviewing! I appreciate it, as always. I hope everyone enjoyed this chapter!  
Also, for whatever reason, I have been having a bit of problems with the section breaks. You know, the gray lines that divide up the parts of the chapters? For whatever reason, some of them have been weird about showing up. I think I figured it out, but if you all could do me a favor, if you see a section that looks like it needs a divider between the parts, could you tell me? I just need to know if I got the issue fixed.  
Either way, thanks for reading! _


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